Environmental Factor, December 2007, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

New Editor-In-Chief for Environmental Health Perspectives

By Robin Mackar
December 2007

Martin, left, helped Tilson with the lapel microphone prior to his open interview at NIEHS on September 13. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

Hugh A. Tilson, Ph.D. a nationally recognized environmental health scientist, has been named the new editor-in-chief of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a journal published by NIEHS. Tilson will start at NIEHS Nov. 26, 2007 and will officially begin his new role as editor-in-chief January 1, 2008. Since 1972, NIEHS has published EHP to provide a worldwide forum for research and education in environmental health sciences.

"Hugh Tilson is an outstanding neurotoxicologist who is well known in the environmental research arena, especially among his former colleagues at NIEHS," said William J. Martin, M.D., director of the NIEHS Office of Translational Research, which oversees EHP. "We are very fortunate to have Hugh with his many years of senior management experience assume this important role." Tilson worked at NIEHS as a researcher from 1976 to 1989.

Tilson was offered the job after undergoing a very competitive, comprehensive and open selection process. The protocol included having a panel of subject matter experts (SME) review all applications received by NIH Human Resources in response the nationally advertised vacancy announcement. The SME panel helped select the top candidates, who then underwent a series of interviews with EHP staff and all NIEHS divisions, including several open forums.

As editor-in-chief, Tilson will be a full-time federal employee responsible for the management of the monthly journal publication, including editorial content, overall operations and supervision of the staff. He will oversee the activities of the Board of Associate Editors and the Editorial Review Board, and he will be responsible for selecting and refilling vacancies on these boards. The boards play a critical role in soliciting and reviewing manuscripts. Tilson will also direct the contract support that assists with the production and distribution of EHP.

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lead the dedicated staff at EHP," said Tilson. "EHP is one of the most important tools we have to get information out to the world about environmental health research. I intend to make it an even more powerful, user-friendly resource."

Currently, Tilson is serving as the national director for the Human Health Research Program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a position he has held since 2005. Tilson began working at the EPA in 1989 as director of the Neurotoxicology Division. His tenure at EPA also included five years as the assistant laboratory director for multimedia research in the Research Coordination Branch of the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory.

Prior to his career at EPA, he served in the Laboratory of Behavioral and Neurological Toxicology and Laboratory of Molecular and Integrative Neuroscience at NIEHS. He has also held various adjunct associate professor positions at UNC Chapel Hill. Tilson received his Ph.D. in psychopharmacology from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and his B.A. in physiological psychology from Texas Technological University in Lubbock, Texas.

Tilson has edited several books and published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has served as the associate editor of science journals, including NeuroToxicology from 1978 to 2004 and Toxicology of Applied Pharmacology from 1985 to 1995. He has also served on several editorial boards.

Under Tilson's leadership EHP will remain an open-access publication, available free of charge online . EHP will also continue to be produced as a print journal available through subscription.

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